The UL basketball team can stay big if need be. Turn to small ball? The Ragin? Cajuns can do that, too.
Which way the Cajuns go when they visit Georgia of the SEC on Wednesday night, however, remains to be seen.
?We can do it different ways,? UL coach Bob Marlin said.
?It will depend on what?s going on in the game. If we feel like the matchups aren?t in our favor, then we?ll change it and try use it to our advantage ? be it small or big.?
The 8-2 Cajuns head to Georgia (5-3) riding an eight-game win streak that includes last Saturday night?s 91-83 home win over Louisiana Tech of Conference.
UL is off to its best start since also opening 8-2 in the 1993-94 season, and it?s in large part because of the play of big man Bryce Washington, who is averaging 15.3 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, and guard Frank Bartley IV, a transfer from BYU averaging a team-high 19.1 ppg.
Washington is tied in the national lead in double-doubles with eight.
But with Georgia countering with what Marlin calls two ?all-conference caliber? players ? big man Yante Maten, who is averaging a team-high 20.9 points and 8.3 boards, and guard J.J. Frazier (14.4 ppg) ? Washington and Bartley won?t be able to do it alone.
Maten and Frazier both were second-team All-SEC picks last season.
One option for UL is to go small by dropping wing man Johnathan Stove down to the 4 spot.
?It will be a tough challenge for us,? Marlin said of facing Georgia, which has losses to Clemson, Kansas and Marquette.
?They?re big up front. They?re gonna try to pound the ball inside on us, and we?re gonna have to be very physical and rebound the ball. We?re gonna have to attack their pressure, their zone defense, their man defense, and have some success on that end.?
The Cajuns are the eighth-best team in the nation in rebounding margin at plus-10.9 per game, so they might be able to bang with the Bulldogs, too.
UL also is seventh in the country in scoring at 90.1 points per game, trailing only The Citadel (105.4) and, in order, UCLA, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, Creighton and West Virginia (90.4), and it is tied for 10th nationally in field goal percentage at 50.4.
?We?re trying to keep the streak going,? said Washington who added the biggest key may simply be bringing ?a lot of energy.?
?We?ve got heart,? added Cajuns point guard Jay Wright, a Georgia high school product from Rincon (Effingham County High) who leads the Sun Belt Conference in steals. ?Everybody?s on the same page. We?re a good team, and we have to accept whatever challenge comes to us.?
Which way the Cajuns go when they visit Georgia of the SEC on Wednesday night, however, remains to be seen.
?We can do it different ways,? UL coach Bob Marlin said.
?It will depend on what?s going on in the game. If we feel like the matchups aren?t in our favor, then we?ll change it and try use it to our advantage ? be it small or big.?
The 8-2 Cajuns head to Georgia (5-3) riding an eight-game win streak that includes last Saturday night?s 91-83 home win over Louisiana Tech of Conference.
UL is off to its best start since also opening 8-2 in the 1993-94 season, and it?s in large part because of the play of big man Bryce Washington, who is averaging 15.3 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, and guard Frank Bartley IV, a transfer from BYU averaging a team-high 19.1 ppg.
Washington is tied in the national lead in double-doubles with eight.
But with Georgia countering with what Marlin calls two ?all-conference caliber? players ? big man Yante Maten, who is averaging a team-high 20.9 points and 8.3 boards, and guard J.J. Frazier (14.4 ppg) ? Washington and Bartley won?t be able to do it alone.
Maten and Frazier both were second-team All-SEC picks last season.
One option for UL is to go small by dropping wing man Johnathan Stove down to the 4 spot.
?It will be a tough challenge for us,? Marlin said of facing Georgia, which has losses to Clemson, Kansas and Marquette.
?They?re big up front. They?re gonna try to pound the ball inside on us, and we?re gonna have to be very physical and rebound the ball. We?re gonna have to attack their pressure, their zone defense, their man defense, and have some success on that end.?
The Cajuns are the eighth-best team in the nation in rebounding margin at plus-10.9 per game, so they might be able to bang with the Bulldogs, too.
UL also is seventh in the country in scoring at 90.1 points per game, trailing only The Citadel (105.4) and, in order, UCLA, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, Creighton and West Virginia (90.4), and it is tied for 10th nationally in field goal percentage at 50.4.
?We?re trying to keep the streak going,? said Washington who added the biggest key may simply be bringing ?a lot of energy.?
?We?ve got heart,? added Cajuns point guard Jay Wright, a Georgia high school product from Rincon (Effingham County High) who leads the Sun Belt Conference in steals. ?Everybody?s on the same page. We?re a good team, and we have to accept whatever challenge comes to us.?
